Review: Post Grad

After returning home from a screening of the dramedy "Post Grad," (IMDb listing) I
was quite surprised to learn that the film wasn’t based on a book or a
television series. It was just a screenplay, credited to Kelly Fremon,
which makes the distracted, overstuffed narrative all the more
confusing. 1/3 post-collegiate woe, 1/3 wacky family suburban comedy,
and 1/3 tepid romantic yearn, "Post Grad" hopes to be many things to
many different audiences. It’s a meandering mess of a motion picture,
enlivened by a few performances, but ultimately, and quite
aggressively, ineffectual and dreary.

Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel, "Gilmore Girls") is finishing up her
college years, ready to take on the business world with a sure-thing
job at a high-profile publishing firm, backed by support from her dear
friend, Adam (Zach Gilford, "Friday Night Lights"). When the gig falls
through, Ryden is forced to move back in with her family (including
Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, and Carol Burnett), starting a job hunt
that continually proves fruitless. Falling under the spell of her
Brazilian neighbor David (Rodrigo Santoro), Ryden’s heart is clouded
in doubt, a situation amplified when Adam prepares to leave for law
school.

In 90 minutes of screen time, "Post Grad" takes on a substantial
amount of emotional baggage. The picture handles exactly like a
sloppy, corner-cutting novel-to-screen adaption, with filmmaker Vicky
Jenson (making her live-action debut after co-directing "Shark Tale"
and "Shrek") cramming in as much plot as possible to feel out a
three-dimensional world for Ryden as she surfs the disappointments of
life. As characters are introduced and Ryden’s personality is
established, "Post Grad" actually comes off as a frothy jumble of
twentysomething insight, executing believable panic (buttressed by
extensive Eskimo Pie plugs) as our hero faces a cold world of
unemployment and domestic resignation. Jenson even gets Adam to a
secure level of ache that meshes well with Ryden’s self-absorption.

Once matters solidify at home and Ryden finds her nether region
burning for David immediately upon introduction, "Post Grads" falls
apart. Not even discreetly, it just crumbles. Part of the blame is
found with Jenson, who juggles too many subplots, hoping to lend Ryden
continuous motivation through her vaguely supportive family. It’s one
thing to have the characters revolving around Ryden, but "Post Grad"
goes so far as to track their own triumphs and humiliations. Will
anyone really care to follow the arrest of Ryden’s father for
receiving stolen merchandise? To watch her kid brother compete in a
soapbox derby race? It’s shocking to find "Post Grad" often shoving
aside the titular character to waste time elsewhere, making for a
bewildering, elongated sit.

The discomfort extends to the love triangle between Ryden, Adam, and
David, which is never balanced to satisfaction. Only in a Hollywood
movie would an unemployed college grad be forced to choose between a
Latin lover and a dreamy emo rocker with law school aspirations.
Jenson doesn’t recognize the absurdity of the situation, permitting
the film to indulge its saccharine sides, cringingly sold by blank
slate Santoro and method man Gilford, who goes all Gosling on the role
in the second half, making for some choice moments of acting-class
brood that further dilute the appeal of the movie.

Also of some disgust is the film’s ultimate message that Ryden must
choose a boyfriend over her professional dreams. Two women steering
this picture, and they lurch for a nitwit fairy tale ending that
nullifies Ryden’s educational and personal accomplishments. Who needs
enriching, sustaining professional aspirations and when boys are
around? Rory Gilmore would never stand for this.

Michael Keaton is allowed an opening to do his Michael Keaton
impression, offering the only laughs of the picture. I also have faith
in Bledel as a leading actress. She does the best she can do with a
film that barely makes time for her. "Post Grad" wastes her efforts
and a juicy concept that held the ideal urgency to speak to a
generation disillusioned; a pack irritated with a system that sold
them a future, but failed to reinforce the workplace reality. Instead,
we’re served mushy romantic comedy leftovers, emerging from a plump
script that should’ve been whittled down to a manageable size before
cameras rolled.

After returning home from a screening of the dramedy \"Post Grad,\" (IMDb listing) I\nwas quite surprised to learn that the film wasn’t based on a book or a\ntelevision series. It was just a screenplay, credited to Kelly Fremon,\nwhich makes the distracted, overstuffed narrative all the more\nconfusing. 1/3 post-collegiate woe, 1/3 wacky family suburban comedy,\nand 1/3 tepid romantic yearn, \"Post Grad\" hopes to be many things to\nmany different audiences. It’s a meandering mess of a motion picture,\nenlivened by a few performances, but ultimately, and quite\naggressively, ineffectual and dreary.\n\n

\n\nRyden Malby (Alexis Bledel, \"Gilmore Girls\") is finishing up her\ncollege years, ready to take on the business world with a sure-thing\njob at a high-profile publishing firm, backed by support from her dear\nfriend, Adam (Zach Gilford, \"Friday Night Lights\"). When the gig falls\nthrough, Ryden is forced to move back in with her family (including\nMichael Keaton, Jane Lynch, and Carol Burnett), starting a job hunt\nthat continually proves fruitless. Falling under the spell of her\nBrazilian neighbor David (Rodrigo Santoro), Ryden’s heart is clouded\nin doubt, a situation amplified when Adam prepares to leave for law\nschool.\n\n

\n\nIn 90 minutes of screen time, \"Post Grad\" takes on a substantial\namount of emotional baggage. The picture handles exactly like a\nsloppy, corner-cutting novel-to-screen adaption, with filmmaker Vicky\nJenson (making her live-action debut after co-directing \"Shark Tale\"\nand \"Shrek\") cramming in as much plot as possible to feel out a\nthree-dimensional world for Ryden as she surfs the disappointments of\nlife. As characters are introduced and Ryden’s personality is\nestablished, \"Post Grad\" actually comes off as a frothy jumble of\ntwentysomething insight, executing believable panic (buttressed by\nextensive Eskimo Pie plugs) as our hero faces a cold world of\nunemployment and domestic resignation. Jenson even gets Adam to a\nsecure level of ache that meshes well with Ryden’s self-absorption.\n

\n\n\nOnce matters solidify at home and Ryden finds her nether region\nburning for David immediately upon introduction, \"Post Grads\" falls\napart. Not even discreetly, it just crumbles. Part of the blame is\nfound with Jenson, who juggles too many subplots, hoping to lend Ryden\ncontinuous motivation through her vaguely supportive family. It’s one\nthing to have the characters revolving around Ryden, but \"Post Grad\"\ngoes so far as to track their own triumphs and humiliations. Will\nanyone really care to follow the arrest of Ryden’s father for\nreceiving stolen merchandise? To watch her kid brother compete in a\nsoapbox derby race? It’s shocking to find \"Post Grad\" often shoving\naside the titular character to waste time elsewhere, making for a\nbewildering, elongated sit.\n\n

\n\nThe discomfort extends to the love triangle between Ryden, Adam, and\nDavid, which is never balanced to satisfaction. Only in a Hollywood\nmovie would an unemployed college grad be forced to choose between a\nLatin lover and a dreamy emo rocker with law school aspirations.\nJenson doesn’t recognize the absurdity of the situation, permitting\nthe film to indulge its saccharine sides, cringingly sold by blank\nslate Santoro and method man Gilford, who goes all Gosling on the role\nin the second half, making for some choice moments of acting-class\nbrood that further dilute the appeal of the movie.\n

\n\n\nAlso of some disgust is the film’s ultimate message that Ryden must\nchoose a boyfriend over her professional dreams. Two women steering\nthis picture, and they lurch for a nitwit fairy tale ending that\nnullifies Ryden’s educational and personal accomplishments. Who needs\nenriching, sustaining professional aspirations and when boys are\naround? Rory Gilmore would never stand for this.\n\n

\n\nMichael Keaton is allowed an opening to do his Michael Keaton\nimpression, offering the only laughs of the picture. I also have faith\nin Bledel as a leading actress. She does the best she can do with a\nfilm that barely makes time for her. \"Post Grad\" wastes her efforts\nand a juicy concept that held the ideal urgency to speak to a\ngeneration disillusioned; a pack irritated with a system that sold\nthem a future, but failed to reinforce the workplace reality. Instead,\nwe’re served mushy romantic comedy leftovers, emerging from a plump\nscript that should’ve been whittled down to a manageable size before\ncameras rolled.